The film Marooned in Iraq is about the journey and struggles of a father and his two sons to find their missing band mate, daughter and sister, Hanareh, amidst all the bullets and falling bombs in Iraq. This singing band traveled and went into various places in Iraq in search for Hanareh. These three men encountered a lot of dangers and problems on their way to Hanareh. The people that time were very mobile. They don’t stay long in a particular area because of the fear that any time the roaming helicopters in the sky might just drop bombs to their place. Almost all the communities that time in Iraq has been devastated by the war. Iraq was very miserable during the reign of its leader Saddam Hussein.

This film is a slice of life in Iraq. Marooned in Iraq shows the suffering of the people of Ira under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. It also pictures how the war affected lives of the people of Iraq. The film was made not from the viewpoint of the outside world but from the viewpoint of the people of Iraq themselves.

Last year, the United States declared war against Iraq. Their main argument for the said war is that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction, thus putting the whole humanity in great danger. US being the superpower is known for its immense media influence. US used his media to bombard the citizen of the world with false propaganda against Iraq. As days passed by, many discrepancies were seen in their statements and in their presented facts. Many of their presented facts were planted. If only the people had known better, maybe the war was prevented. Now, here comes the United States, claiming to be the hero who will save the whole humanity with its possible destruction. Earlier this year, the United States declared victory over this tragic war. Yes, the bullets might take its rest and bombs might be held in reserve for a while, and the war between these two nations may subside but the real war has just started.

We cannot deny the fact that indeed Saddam Hussein is a murderer of his own people. Genocides were very outstanding during his dictatorship. Just like what the movie portrayed, millions of properties were destroyed and many lives were lost. The environment was totally shattered and the economy became worst. Human rights of the Iraqi people were blocked by the policies imposed by Saddam. They have gone through a lot of suffering as a citizen of Iraq. But this is not enough reason for other states, especially the United States to get into it.

The US-Iraq war only worsened the horrible situation of Iraq. Again, millions of properties were destroyed and many lives were lost. Women were left crying for their men, wife weeping for their lost husband, mothers lamenting over their children and children mourning for their lifeless parents. The traumas it caused to the Iraqi society will forever be in the mind of those who survived the war. The externalities of the war are so nauseating. They should have thought of it many times before they executed their plans of bombing Iraq. They should have taken into considerations the lives of its innocent people, especially the children and their future. They must have thought of the impact of the war and not just of its short-term results.

Now, the United States handed Iraq its “sovereignity.” Iraq can now restart its own government and its own activities. But the big questions are: Where will they start? Where will they get the financial needs to start the reconstruction of their devastated country? Who will lead the reconstruction if the bombs and the bullets killed most of its intellectuals? Iraq will again start from scratch. For now, the future of the people of Iraq and the Iraq as a state is unclear. The reconstruction will take long, 20 years, 30 years, 50 years or maybe a century, we do not know, but the memoirs of the war will never fade in the history of Iraq and in the chronicle of the whole humanity.

Let us not forget that more than anything else; the lives of the people are more significant than any other personal interests. War can never be the solutions for any misunderstandings. The war will subside sooner or later but its effects will forever remain. Let me just quote what President Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.”

The date posted here is due to our website rebuild, it does not reflect the original date this article was posted. This article was originally posted in Yonip in 2003